Napa Cyclist Wins Mountainous Stage 5 At Amgen

The 2017 Amgen Tour of California is a seven-stage race that starts in Sacramento and ends in Pasadena.

Bob Moffitt / Capital Public Radio

Napa's Andrew Talansky of the Cannondale-Drapac team was the 2015 National Time Trial champion but had never won a flat stage or mountainous one at the Amgen Tour of California — until Thursday.

Often, a master of the flat surfaces in cycling has an uphill battle (pun intended) when he or she takes on a mountain stage. Riders began the day in Ontario, climbed to the top of Mt. Baldy and finished.

Talansky, overall leader Rafal Majka of BORA-hansgrohe and George Bennett of Team LottoNL-Jumbo finished 1-2-3.

Talansky made up a little time on Majka, but Majka added two seconds to his overall lead over Bennett, which now stands at six seconds. Team Sky’s Ian Boswell remains in third overall but is now 25 seconds behind.

“Once we were inside that last kilometer, I thought about winning the stage rather than just continuing to attack, and that worked out pretty well. I do know this finish, which was definitely an advantage, so it worked out,” says Talansky.

Riders experienced 12,000 feet of elevation and incline as much as 15 percent during the nearly 4-hour ride.

The King of the Mountain (KOM) Jersey still belongs to Daniel Jaramillo of United Healthcare. The Breakaway from Cancer® / Breakaway from Heart DiseaseTM Most Courageous Rider Jersey is Rob Britton of the Rally team.

The Visit California Sprint Jersey will be worn again by Peter Sagan BORA-hansgrohe. Lachlan Morton of Team Dimension Data still leads the Best Young Rider classifcation.

Stage 6 is up Talansky's alley as well. It's a 14.9-mile time trial circuit.

Bob reports on all things northern California and Nevada. His coverage of police technology, local athletes, and the environment has won a regional Associated Press and several Edward R. Murrow awards. Read Full Bio